November 25 - I am grateful for the gift of PATIENCE.
Grandma had a rough first day after surgery. Her pain was horrendous and the medications made her feel very groggy, nauseous, and confused. Luckily I was able to reassure her that the first day is always the worst day. And it should get easier each day! She had a knee replacement two years ago and kept saying how much easier and less painful it was than this surgery. We had to remind her she a) planned that surgery and b) didn't fall off a curb onto pavement. The ortho surgeon came in and also made a good point: one of the most wonderful parts of the human mind is the ability to forget pain. If we remembered pain, we would all be only children without brothers or sisters. Ha! So true. It made her smile.
Seeing the small victories such as sitting up, lifting her legs, and taking side steps reminded me about the difficult virtue of patience. It feels like life has become so fast-paced and "in-the-now" that it is easy to expect change and improvement to happen TODAY and to get there with as little work as possible. Welcome to America, huh? Grandma is reminding me that good things come to those who wait and put in the time to get there (even if I have to remind her of that myself).
Every one of us is trying to accomplish something; maybe it is walking after a hip surgery, losing that 5-100+ extra pounds, starting a family, running their first marathon (or mile for that matter!), landing that perfect job, getting out of debt, meeting the love of your life, fighting a difficult illness, drowning through never-ending PA school, or something as simple as making it to the weekend. What does it take to get there? Patience.
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| Remember Grandma's wisdom: Good things come to those who wait. |
November 26 - I am grateful for all of my PATIENTS.
You'll be happy to hear that Grandma had a much better day on Monday! She made it out of the bed a few times to sit in the chair and walk to the bathroom. Her mood was much improved and we had a great talk while my parents were at dinner. Although she is in a great deal of pain, it's slowly becoming more tolerable.
Throughout the past 10 months of clinical rotations, I have seen hundreds of patients. Although many of the patients have similar diagnoses: High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, I learn something new from every patient. Some days can be hard: patients don't always comply with the treatment you think is best for their health, you have to diagnose someone with a life-changing condition, PA-S somehow translates to therapist, patients self-diagnose and demand medications that aren't indicated and you work at your best for free.
But the good moments far outweigh the bad moments: a smile from a sick child, a hug from a thankful patient, seeing a patient make changes to their life and feel 100% improved, and leaving work each day knowing you helped someone who puts their trust in you. Scary? Yes. But worth it? Even more so.
To all of my patients out there... Thank you for being my guinea pigs and being patient with me as I learn this crazy world of medicine.
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